Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 71

(Ayah71) ➊ {وَ اللّٰهُ فَضَّلَ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلٰى بَعْضٍ فِي الرِّزْقِ …:} That is, when you are not willing to give your slaves any share of your sustenance and authority to make them equal to you, even though in being human they are just like you, then why do you make Allah’s slaves (servants) His partners? Lament the intellect of the polytheists of Makkah, who, while proclaiming “Labbayk” during Hajj and Umrah and admitting that You have no partner, then say, “except for one partner, whom You own, but he does not own.” [ مسلم، الحج، باب التلبیۃ و صفتہا… : ۱۱۸۵ ] When he is owned, how did he become a partner? That which you do not like for yourselves, why do you accept it for Allah Almighty?

➋ This verse also clearly refutes the claim of the communists (socialists) that all people should have equal sustenance, and that whatever is extra with someone should be seized. Allah Almighty said, this is not possible, nor can the system of the universe run on this, nor has it ever happened; even among communist rulers and the public, there was a world of difference in their standards of living. Many other verses support this; see Surah Ar-Rum (28) and Surah Az-Zukhruf (32).

71. 1. That is, when you do not give your slaves so much wealth and worldly possessions that they become equal to you, then how would Allah ever like that you make some people, who are also servants and slaves of Allah, partners with Allah and declare them equal to Him? From this verse, it is also understood that the differences found among humans in terms of wealth are according to the natural system established by Allah. These cannot be eliminated through forced laws as in the communist system; that is, instead of unnatural attempts at economic equality, everyone should have equal opportunities to strive and earn in the economic field.

71. 2. That they take out offerings and dedications for others besides Allah from the wealth given by Allah, and thus show ingratitude for the blessings.

71. And Allah has favored some of you over others in provision. But those who have been given more do not hand over their provision to those whom their right hands possess so that they become equal in it. Do they then deny the favors of Allah [70]?

[70]
Shirk is Injustice and Ingratitude Towards Allah:

This address is to the polytheists, and a simple, understandable argument is presented in refutation of shirk: that among you, if a person is wealthy and owns property and has several slaves, would he be willing to distribute all his wealth and property among his slaves in such a way that his own share becomes equal to that of every slave? Obviously, no owner would ever tolerate such a thing. Then the next question is: when you yourselves are not willing to tolerate such equality for yourselves, can Allah tolerate such equality? He is the Owner and Master of everything; He has granted you all these blessings. Now, what was required of you was to thank Him alone and worship Him alone, but in this matter, you have made Allah’s owned slaves equal partners with Him. Can there be any greater injustice towards Allah, any greater ingratitude for His favors, or any greater denial of His blessings than this?

The Created and the Owned Can Never Become Partners:

Here, it is also worth considering that if an owner gives his slave ownership of something or the authority to dispose of it, all of this is only temporary. In reality, the true owner of these things remains the original owner. In this sense, we say that in reality, Allah Almighty is the Owner of everything, and our ownership or authority over anything is only for a few days or temporary. An important conclusion from this is that being owned and being a partner are two things that cannot be combined. That is, a slave cannot become a partner. The only way to make a slave an owner is to first set him free. Now, he may become an owner, but he is no longer a slave. Inevitably, the conclusion is that since everything is the creation and property of Allah Almighty, it can never become His partner in the attributes of divinity.

Refutation of Communism:

Some proponents of communism have taken the wrong meaning from this verse and have drawn a very absurd conclusion. According to them, the meaning of this verse is: “Those among you who are wealthy should distribute their wealth and property among their slaves so that all become equal, and if you do not do so, you will be considered deniers of Allah’s blessings.” In this way, they try to pave the way for communism. Now, it is obvious that to ignore the context and take a verse from the middle and extract a meaning according to one’s own ideology is the worst kind of distortion of meaning. Even before this verse, the affirmation of tawheed and the refutation of shirk are being discussed. The same subject is mentioned in this verse, and the following verses also continue with the same subject. Therefore, to separate this verse from its original meaning and attach it to a false economic philosophy of the present age is extremely unreasonable. Furthermore, this meaning is also wrong in that the verse mentions slaves, not the poor class, which the communists use for their own purposes.